(NASHVILLE) — This week, House Republicans fulfilled their commitment to Tennessee veterans, the disabled, and the elderly by securing property tax relief for these important groups with the passage of an amendment to the “Improving Manufacturing, Public Roads, and Opportunities for a Vibrant Economy (IMPROVE) Act.”
While the IMPROVE Act raises the tax on gas and diesel by .06 and .10 cents respectively over a three year period in an effort to help fund the state’s $10 billion backlog of road construction projects, it also reduces taxes by more than $300 million annually. These decreases include property tax relief for Tennessee veterans, the disabled, and the elderly. Under House Bill 534, veterans and eligible low-income elderly and disabled homeowners would receive tax relief based on the value of the first $175,000 of their home — an increase of $75,000 over the current property tax benefit.
The IMPROVE Act also decreases the sales tax on groceries by $125 million, reduces taxes on Tennessee’s manufacturers by $113 million, and reduces the Hall income tax over time before it is completely phased out.
The bill’s momentum was boosted by an endorsement from the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) organization which confirmed that the legislation’s net tax decrease meant a vote in favor would continue to honor the Taxpayer Protection Pledge signed by many General Assembly members. Americans for Tax Reform is a national conservative group formed by Grover Norquist in 1985 at the request of President Ronald Reagan. The flagship project of ATR is the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, a written promise by lawmakers and candidates for office that commits them to oppose any effort to increase income taxes on individuals and businesses.
The conservative group’s approval follows an earlier announcement in January of this year by the American Conservative Union naming the Tennessee legislature as the most conservative in the nation. Since 2011 and prior to the passage of the IMPROVE Act last week, lawmakers have cut $438 million in taxes, eliminating the death and gift tax, reducing the sales tax on food, and working to phase out the Hall income tax.
###